For many people, studying abroad is an experience reserved for their Junior year of college. You jet off to Florence, drink wine and gorge yourself on empty calories, travel throughout Europe for a semester, “study,” return home, and wax nostalgic for the next 20 years about your life-changing semester abroad. There’s a sense about studying abroad that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that can’t be replicated. Once you’ve done it, it’s over, and you’ll never be able to get that experience back. Well, that’s not entirely true.
Photo: Kavun Halyna/Shutterstock
Attention: You Don’t Have to Be a Student to Study Abroad
Tiktoker Gabby B has compiled a whole host of ways for people to “study” abroad – and many don’t involve going to school.
@packslight #stitch with @annaschozer I be tryna put y’all on 😤😤 #opportunityexpert #studyabroad #internships ♬ original sound – Gabby B.
“You do not need to be a student to study abroad,” she says. “I call them paid travel opportunities. Because they’re not just for students, they’re not just for schools – they’re internships, international fellowships, grant programs, remote jobs, conferences you can speak at or attend. But they’re all programs you can participate in that have an element of travel. And they all have scholarships for them too.”
These opportunities, which can be found on her website, cover a wide range of destinations, including Ireland, Italy, Australia, Finland, Scotland, Poland, Morocco, China, France, and Costa Rica. All you have to do is click into the individual opportunities, see if it’s the right fit for you, apply for a scholarship and fellowship, and then (if you’re lucky), travel and live on someone else’s dime.
“I studied abroad at 21, 24, and 26,” Gabby says, “completely paid for each time. So I guess I should’ve said you don’t have to be a student to study abroad for free.”